


When the Sun Goes Down

by mochimarika



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Hospitals, Kuroo Tetsurou-centric, Pickpockets, Post-Time Skip, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Stray Animals, kuroo just wants to have a good day, more like scammers to friends to lovers lol, not really enemies, please bare with me!, this is a wild start
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:21:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29150376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mochimarika/pseuds/mochimarika
Summary: “Kuroo Tetsurou....huh. I feel like I know the name from somewhere, just can’t seem to place where.. What did he look like?”You respond, sighing dreamily. “Tall, handsome, a little rugged, like how I’d imagine prince charming.” Mika can practically imagine the hearts in your eyes.“Ah! Daishou and I knew a Kuroo back in high school, but that one looks more like a con artist than a prince charming...An emo con artist at that.” She giggles, “so definitely not him.”⑅❀⑅❀⑅❀⑅❀⑅❀⑅⳾⳾...in which you’re a con artist and Kuroo proves just how much of a “nice guy” he really is.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Original Female Character(s), Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader, Kuroo Tetsurou/You
Kudos: 10





	When the Sun Goes Down

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be a wild ride, but this fic is actually more planned than my Atsumu one, so please hang in there!

Kuroo was having a good day.

For the first time in a very, very long time, he has a free weekend to do whatever he wants. No overtime, no deadlines, no appointments, no responsibilities.

It’s Saturday, so he sleeps in until eight am _(a feat considering he’s usually up by five for work everyday)_ , fixes himself a hearty breakfast, then just happily lazes around his newly moved in, modern high-rise unit _(the first luxury he affords himself as an adult)_. For most of the morning, Kuroo perches himself on his plush, brown leather memory foam couch, flipping through Netflix shows and scrolling through his socials, indulging in his boredom.

Boredom, to Kuroo, is another newly afforded luxury. For the past two years since he’d started working for the JVA, he barely had any time for himself, often volunteering to work late nights and weekends. So a free Saturday after all his hard work, and a boring one at that, delighted Kuroo to no end.

At noon, he estimates that Kenma is most likely awake, or at least should be waking by now, so he sends him a quick text to ask if he could come over. “I’ll even bring lunch with dessert. Apple pie from that one bougie bakery you like.” He bribes.

Fifteen minutes later, Kenma responds with a single thumbs up emoji. Meanwhile, Kuroo’s already in the shower, already set on bombarding Kenma whether he replies or not.

-

Kuroo buys some food and snacks from an upscale bakery close to his apartment in Nakameguro, then decides to make a pit stop at his favorite coffee shop; a small, independent establishment well loved by the young and hip locals.

_“Oya.. 450¥ for an iced Americano.”_ He debates with himself over the price. A splurge compared to the 100¥ vending machine coffee he used to guzzle nonstop in high school, but Kuroo supposes it’s worth it. After all, he had just gotten a well deserved raise and there’s an aura about today that just feels like it’s going to be a wonderful day.

Humming to himself as he exits the coffee shop, he takes in the lively springtime scenery as he leisurely strolls to the nearest subway station. The birds are chirping, the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom, its pretty pink reflections marring the soft waves flowing in the river, and a really cute girl seems to be walking towards him. 

You. 

You seem to be in a rush. With your head bowed and eyes lowered, it seems as if you’re speed walking directly towards him and Kuroo barely has time to sidestep as you haphazardly collide. You bump against his shoulder, accidentally grazing his lower back as you try to steady yourself and his coffee almost gets knocked away from his hand.

Despite the collision, you don’t stop walking. 

“Sorry! I’m so sorry!!” You look back, slightly nodding at him as you continue to hurry away. 

“ _A little weird, but I hope she’s okay_.” Kuroo thinks as he nods at you and regains his composure. Patting the front of his burgundy cashmere sweater to check if he spilled coffee anywhere, Kuroo blushes as he remembers that you accidentally touched his butt.

_“Ha! I got cake too. Watch out Bokuto, you got some competition.”_ He jokes to himself, distractedly wiping the condensation of his ice coffee against the back pocket of his jeans. 

That’s when Kuroo realizes. 

His left butt cheek seems less rounded. Flat almost... Weird... he moves to brush his hand against his right back pocket, wondering why he doesn’t feel as if his right butt cheek isn’t flat. Actually, it’s quite toned. 

Oh wait, the left back pocket is where he normally keeps his wallet. 

His wallet? 

_...oh shit. _

His wallet is gone.

He turns around, hurriedly aiming to retrace his steps to find it but somehow, he ends up making accidental eye contact with you. 

Within a blink of an eye, you suddenly break into a sprint, nervously glancing at his direction every couple of seconds.

The dots connect rapidly. 

You speed walking, pretty little head lowered as if you didn’t want anyone to recognize or notice you, bumping into him, “accidentally” touching his butt, then walking away even faster as you repeatedly apologize to him, as if you couldn’t wait to get away...

The red lights are flashing in his head. “She stole my wallet!!!”

He runs to chase you, dropping his newly bought food and expensive coffee on the floor in a rush, good day be damned.

-

Maneuvering through crowded streets, accidentally bumping into unassuming pedestrians, being one hundred eighty _freakin_ ’ eight centimeters tall, you gain a little distance over him. 

But still, you’re winded. 

Sprinting across the street just as the traffic light switches from red to blue, you see the tall and handsome stranger glaring at you from across the road. 

“Just give up! You won’t be able to catch me from here!” You plead, or rather yell, so that hecan hear you through all the mingling of onlookers and moving vehicles.

But he’s persistent. 

As soon as the lights turn red, Kuroo is sprinting towards you again. 

He gains momentum and almost catches up to you until you abruptly turn towards a hidden alley.

Kuroo follows in trepidation and looks around, trying to find any traces of you.

He almost misses, but as he glances to the side, he finds you with your head lowered, crouched down, squatting away from him, body facing the corner of a wall. As if you thought that by balling yourself up, you would disappear from his vision.

“Come on... you really think that would work?” He hoarsely whispers, trying to catch his breath, one hand clutching his sweater and another fanning himself.

You whimper in response, shakily turning to face him. 

On your arms are the two smallest kittens he’s ever seen. One calico and one black, staring at him with big, round, wide eyes as if they’re begging for mercy, the same way you are.

Watery eyed, you beg him with a small voice, hiccuping. “Just look at them! Th-they’re so small..* _hiccup_ * they’re abandoned. * _hiccup_ * Th-they have no one to care for them and * _hiccup_ * they’re so so hungry. Please, _pleaaase_ buy them some milk, s-save them, i’m begging you.”

And because Kuroo has a soft spot for tiny animals, especially ones that are that cute, in distress and somehow seem familiar to him, heimmediately agrees, turning to head to the nearby Family Mart.

As he walks out of the hidden alley, it occurs to him. 

You still have his wallet.

He turns back, only to find the alley now empty. No sign of kittens, no trace of you. 

“Fuck this day.”

-

“Okairi.” 

“Tadaima!” You excitedly greet your roommate, Mika.

Mika is also in her 20s, engaged to her high school sweetheart, and is currently a nurse trainee at the nearby hospital’s pediatric department. You met each other in nursing school, rapidly became best friends and are now roommates and like sisters.

You find her rifling through her notes from the hospital by the worn kotatsu in the living room.

“I left some ramen for you.” She mentions.

“Thanks!” 

You fix up your instant ramen and join her at the table.

With shaky hands, you slide the stranger’s wallet to her.  
  
  


“This is for you,” you whisper.

She looks up sharply, shooting you a stern, disappointed look that makes you want to shrink and shrivel up instantly. 

“Awww, y/n -chan, didn’t I tell you to stop stealing??” 

“I know! I know, I’m sorry.. but.. we barely have any money. You work so hard at the hospital, but they’re not going to pay you properly until you finish training... We can barely pay the rent and groceries as it is.”

Mika admonishes, softer this time. “But you can’t continue stealing! What if you get caught?”

“I know.. but if I start training at the hospital, I won’t have the time to look for my grandma...”

“I just worry about you, you know.” 

Unable to look at her in the eye, you fiddle with the square black leather wallet in front of you. It’s plain but the leather feels soft and luxurious, decorated only with a small embossed “K.T.” in silver Times New Roman font at the bottom right corner.

You open the wallet, eyes growing wider and wider in shock at the multitude of platinum and black cards you find. 

“Mi-chan! Mi-chan! Look!!” You beckon as you find the thick wad of cash inside. 

Mika drops her pen in shock and starts screaming.

“Holy shit! Jackpot! We hit jackpot!” You both excitedly yell and dance around the tiny living room together, celebrating the thought of being able to stock your fridge with actual meat and vegetables instead of frozen ready made dinner packets.

Mika is the first to sober. “Waiiiit. Something’s not right. That’s a lot of money. What if the person you stole this from is a government official? Or worse, part of the yakuza??” 

You counter immediately. “Mika, I know what I did is wrong, but I promise you. This is the last time. I swear! I think the gods granted me the best of luck for this, so I won’t test my fate after.”

“Fine, I’ll forgive you this time.” She pulls out the credit cards and briefly looks at the name. 

“Kuroo Tetsurou....huh. I feel like I know the name from somewhere, just can’t seem to place where.. What did he look like?”

You respond, sighing dreamily. “Tall, handsome, a little rugged, like how I’d imagine prince charming.” She can practically imagine the hearts in your eyes.

“Ah! Daishou and I knew a Kuroo back in high school, but that one looks more like a con artist than a prince charming...An emo con artist at that.” She giggles, “so definitely not him.”

“Yeah, this guy was like prince charming... a very gullible one though.” Chuckling, you proceed to tell her about your antics; Mika chiding you but struggling to do so seriously in between bouts of laughter.

-

The next day, Kuroo is aimlessly wandering the streets of Shibuya while on a scheduled monthly call with Yaku, now the star libero for a Russian team in Ekaterinberg.

“...then I had to call Kenma to cancel, but he insisted on picking me up and helping me freeze all my credit cards. Oh and can you believe the pickpocket was a girl about our age? A really pretty girl too! Man.. youth these days.”

As Yaku sasses him for his misfortunes and for never breaking the habit of speaking like a geriatric, Kuroo’s gaze involuntarily fixates on a girl walking down the street. 

_“Wow, she’s cute,”_ he thinks. 

Said cute girl passes by him and he recognizes the face. That cute, seemingly innocent, but actually very manipulative and thieving face. 

It’s you.

“Yakkun sorry, need to go. Let’s chat next month again.” Before Yaku could yell at him for being rude and wasting his precious time that he’s generously saved for him, he hangs up and follows you stealthily.

You find yourself oblivious to all of this as you’re too busy trying to find that one building full of purikura booths. 

After your chat with Mika last night, you reached a compromise by deciding to find a night shift job. The daytime would still be reserved to your quest of finding your sole, living relative; your grandmother that you didn’t know existed until a couple of months ago. 

You enter the building filled with photo booths, immediately choosing a plain booth that took simple headshots perfect for résumés. You  tousle your hair lightly and gloss your lips as the robotic voice of the booth counts down.

“3, 2, 1, Smi-“

“SURPRISE!!” Kuroo yells, jumping into the booth with you, smiling and looking at your startled face then back to the camera as it flashes.

Quickly recovering from utter shock, you try to slither out the booth but Kuroo is blocking the narrow entryway, one arm slung on the entry frame and another on the photo booth screen, effectively trapping you in between his surprisingly muscled arms. 

“Where’s my wallet?” He casually asks, grinning down at you like a cheshire.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry!”

“It’s a bit too late for apologies now miss. Please return my wallet or I’ll take you to the police.” He threatens.

“No, no, please! I can’t get arrested.. I.. I have someone waiting for me! At the hospital! That’s why I took your wallet. Please.” You explain hurriedly, fat tears bursting out of the corners of your eyes, cascading down your face, and pooling at your chin.

Kuroo is flustered at the sight. He never knew how to deal with crying, not for himself nor for his friends and former teammates. He always opted to fill the void of providing comfort with jokes, distractions or solutions, but neither of those tactics seem fitting here. “Can you explain yourself more clearly? Stop trying to trick me or else I’m taking you straight to the police.”

“N-n-no. Please. I can’t explain it, but I can show you. Please. Just come with me to the hospital.”

“Alright then. But first, I want the picture. To remember you by in case you disappear again.”  


_“But also because you’re beautiful...”_ he thinks additionally. 

What the fuck? What is he thinking? You just stole from him and scammed him for fuck’s sake. _“Get it together, Tetsurou.”_

-

At the hospital lobby, you walk at an agonizingly slow pace. Pausing to read the directory, you then turn to Kuroo. “You can’t tell them that you’re here because of what I did. They won’t be able to bare it... please.” You tack on, lips trembling and eyes red, threatening to spill tears. 

“Deal.” 

Kuroo follows you as you languidly traipse down a hall, stopping towards the end. “Sshhh... he’s sleeping.” You whisper.

“What’s he here for?”

Your eyes well up and the tears start to fall again. Kuroo is once again, at a loss of what to do so he resorts to just listening intently, trying to soften the expression on his face.  
  
  


“The doctors don’t know. They’ve been doing tests nonstop.. My brother... I’m doing all I can to support him, but it’s just so expensive..” You sob.

Kuroo takes pity on you, but he forces himself to make a much needed point, despite how harsh he may seem. “So you steal as a result... You know what you’re doing is wrong, right?”

“I have no choice! The bills just pile up.. Everything costs money,” you reason with some resolution to your voice. 

His thoughts are racing, multiple feelings mixing as he tries to figure out what to do at the unique situation he’s found himself in. On one hand, he’s so fucking angry at the fact that you actually steal from people; people who are hard working or need the money to sustain themselves and their families. However, he also feels genuine pity for you, your situation, and the fact that you have to resort to stealing to make sure your loved one stays alive. Overcome with a genuine will to try and help, Kuroo lets you lead him outside the building.

“I’m so sorry, but I really can’t pay you back. I already used the cash to pay for bills.” You confess shyly, leaning against an empty bicycle rack by the entrance.

Pulling out his checkbook from the secret pocket of his forest green, nylon bomber jacket, he looks down and quickly scribbles on the pad. 

“Here, to help. Please stop pickpocketing.” He states as he casually hands you a check that’s folded in half.

You peak into the fold and see 500,000¥ scrawled in barely legible chicken scratch. 

Wait. _Five hundred freaking thousand yen?!?_

You rub your eyes and double check to see if you read right, holding the check up towards the sunlight.

“I know it’s not a lot, but it should cover some of his expenses for the month, until you can f-“

“It’s too much! I can’t take this!” You interrupt.

“Now’s not the time to be coy, pickpocket-chan.” 

“That’s not my name!”

“It’s what you do though.. notice I left the beneficiary blank on there?” He gestures to the check you’re currently holding out, arms outstretched to return to him.

You tell him your first name, your real one and not an alias, then proceed to invade his personal space, attempting to stick the check back into his pockets. With cat-like reflexes, Kuroo dodges all your attempts.

He simply ruffles the top of your hair, then starts walking away. 

Looking back at you from a distance just before he leaves the vicinity, he remarks. 

“Keep it. It should give you a new start. If I catch you stealing again, I swear I’ll demand payback and charge interest.” 

-

Because Kuroo is genuinely a nice guy, contrary to a lot of people’s perceptions of him, he comes back to the hospital the next weekend toting a fresh fruit basket.

Aiming to just pay his respects ~~and maybe perhaps even see you~~ , he politely greets your brother and asks how he’s been doing.

Your brother looks a little put out. “Good,” he curtly answers.

“I apologize, I met your sister last week and she took me here to see you. I don’t mean to be forward, but I hope they’re able to diagnose you soon.” 

“Sister? Hehhh?! Are you crazy? I don’t have a sister!”

Both men stare at each other; one confused and the other annoyed.

In total disbelief, Kuroo manages to squeak. “Sorry to be so crude sir, but do you happen to have a terminal illness?”

“What the fuck young man? What is wrong with young people these days? I’m here for toe bunion removals! On both feet!! You rude, tactless, son of a b-“ the man continues to ramble, muttering obscenities and cursing the entire Millennial generation for not having manners.

Kuroo on the other hand, is so pissed he’s tuned out the patient. The random hospital patient who is definitely not your brother. The random hospital patient who doesn’t even know you. 

You fooled him again. This time, he was no longer feeling merciful nor benevolent. 

He resolves then and there to catch you, whatever it takes. 

_“Oh my god I let a pathological liar loose..” “What if she’s part of organized crime?” “What if she’s part of the yakuza?” “How could someone so cute be so cunning? What the fuck?”_ His thoughts jumbling as he leaves the hospital.

-

Kuroo decides that he doesn’t care much for the luxury of being bored; not when he can scheme to find you and make you pay for tricking him. Twice at that. 

Much to his embarrassment, he hasn’t told anyone about your second encounter. Not even Kenma who he’s sure would call him an idiot for being too nice, but would still most likely help him craft a detailed strategy to catch you.

He knows that the chances of finding you are minimal to none. He only has your first name and four passport sized photos of you and him; you with a shocked face staring at him and him maniacally grinning at the camera on all of them. Okay, he definitely can’t show these pictures to anyone or else they’d all think he was the scammer. Damn it.

With very limited options, Kuroo decides to frequent two spots: the coffee shop in Meguro where he first ran into you and outside that one random purikura building in Shibuya.  


  
He would’ve gone inside the building had he not been banned by the entrance worker after the first three times, mistaking him as a pervert for being the only unaccompanied adult man queueing up almost everyday to take cutesy photo booth pictures. He thought it’d be funny to send those Yaku. Damn it.

On his next day off, Kuroo decides to switch tactics and look for you where he first caught you. Wearing aviator sunglasses and an oversized hoodie as measly disguise measures, he treads back to the sketchy alley he first found you in.

More stray animals are what greets him. A small army of Shiba puppies with red and brindle furs, mutts in varying sizes, black, orange, white and multi-colored cats whose breeds he can’t even name, it seemed as if stray animals just congregated and coexisted in that little spot.

Thankfully the animals aren’t feral. Some hiss at him as he enters the alley, but he can tell a lot more are comfortable, some even longing to be at the presence of humans. He crouches to pet a small white furry kitten pawing at the selvedge of his tailored jeans. It instantly purrs as Kuroo brushes its soft fur, twisting its tiny body against him to try and curl its small tail on his leg. 

Kuroo has always been a dog person, but in that moment, he swears he feels an overwhelming sense of filial duty to protect and love the baby kitten and its siblings. 

Entranced, the other animals move closer to him. He sits on the dirty floor of the abandoned alley, forgetting about his mission as he focuses on giving the surrounding cats and dogs equal amounts of pets and cuddles. Kuroo feels much lighter as he coos and lavishes the sweet creatures with all his care and attention. 

This continues for a while until he hears your silvery voice calling out to the animals in a sing song, echoes floating from around the corner.

“Guess what babies?! You’re eating good today! Actually we’re all eating good!”

He manages to scramble and sit behind a large recycling bin in the corner, head slightly tilted so that he can still watch the fur babies run up to greet you as you pull out bowls and arrange them neatly in a row.

You pet the bigger dogs first and move down to the smaller cats and puppies as they jump and vie for your attention, hand feeding them treats as you move from biggest to smallest. You talk to the animals as if you’d known them for a while, calling out their names as you prepare the food you’d brought.

“Momo, Kenny, Choco, Churro you’re all getting bigger!” You exclaim as you cradle the kittens Kuroo fell in love with.

As the animals dig in, you tell them. “Enjoy your food guys! I got a part-time job and this feast is from my first pay check! This isn’t from prince charming anymore, it’s from me!”

Prince charming? Who the hell is that?

“Aww don’t look so confused Churro. Remember the tall, handsome guy who found you and Kenny here with me? He’s prince charming. And the food since then has been the courtesy of his wallet. Now it’s all me!” You babble on as if the animals would respond to you at anytime, even facing them as they continue to eat. 

“He was really cute and just so nice... I hope he isn’t too mad at me.”

Kuroo decides then that it’s time to burst your little fairy tale bubble of being an urban Disney princess with stray animals for pets. Standing up from behind the bin, he quietly makes his way towards you. “So you think I’m really cute heh?”

You jump and make a strangled, throaty noise. Kuroo is smirking and standing in front of you, your palm gently pushing against his chest providing the only separation between you.

You grin awkwardly at him, then in a shaky voice, you look down to the animals and announce. “G-g-guys, meet prince charming.”

**Author's Note:**

> Reader and Kuroo’s motivations and backgrounds will be explored more in later chapters. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! 💗


End file.
